Dima1978

I have a small dilemma or a debate in my head: what would be a better over all choice for an all season tire. On one hand, I read good reviews about YK520: price, quiet, long lasting with a warranty. On the other hand, Pilot Sport AS + seems to be the best all-around performer hands down, but the price hurts.
Right now I have BFG Super Sport AS which is an OK set performance wise; they lasted 27k and may have another 2-3k left but I want them off my car due to bad noise issues.
If I put YK520 on, would it be OK in snow? OR there is a definite need in a snow set? PS I live in Minnesota.

msujohn

I am actually in the market for tires myself and have looked at quite a few.
The ones I am looking at are below. The Bridgestone is probably the best rated on the list (but costs quite a bit more). I'm debating if it will be worth it. Most folks say that the Bridgestone tire width is very narrow (not sure what that will do). Both Yoko's have very good reviews but they are made only for NTB (AS530) and Discount (YK520). Very good price point.

Yokohama AS 530
Yokohama YK520
Falken 912
Kuhmo Ecsta Asx
Bridgestone Potenza RE960

The Falken and Kuhmo seem to have a good price point as well - but you probably get what you pay for (regards to tread life and noise with these).

ffiallo

I'm also looking into tires, probably have about 5K miles left on the OEM Brid EL42's at 15K miles.
My other vehicle (Toyota Sienna) has YK520 on them at about 20K miles. They are wearing on both borders (with pressure checked and on the high side), and are getting somewhat loud as they wear. They have a 65K mile warrantly which they will never last at all.
That being said, they were great up until 10-12K miles. They are not bad tires but I wouldn't buy them again for the van and don't think I'll get them for the TL either. I'm inclined to go with the Falken 912, at about $30 less per tire, with the same warranty (45K miles).

Continental DWS - I hear they are great for snow (no need in FL) but a must in MN (or something similar), but have very soft side walls.

Brid 960 - they're great as per reviews, but pricey and not crazy about the looks.

Kumho ASX - heard good things, but not inclined toward them (looks & handling).

Please post what you end up getting. Good luck!

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

i just go done going through all the same research about a week ago...i looked at every tire under the moon and read through all the reviews...i ended up with the yokohama advan s.4...it was overall the best tire i could find for the money...michilen and the bridgestone were too much for what i wanted to spend, the yk 520 just didnt seem sproty enough, and even though the advan s4 doesnt have a miliage warranty, it seems as though most likely would get 30k + miles out of them so i was happy with my choice...

Dima1978

I made an appointment for a yk520. Whanted advan 4s but winter traction is minimal on them. I looked at 235 45 17 they look sporty enough for my daily commutes and with warranty they will be cheaper in the long run. Unless they suck in winter; then, winter package time.

BDoggPrelude

Of all the tires discussed in this thread the YK520's probably have the best winter traction. They also have an excellent ride and the noise level will be as good or better than the Michelin and Bridgestone. They will definitely fall short of their 40k warranty and won't have the dry traction of the Michelin or Bridgestone, (lower performance rating).

That being said, I'd still fork over the extra cash for the Michelin or Bridgestone tires. They just make the best tires in the business. The Bridgestones will be a little longer lasting than the Yokohamas and the Michelins a little longer lasting than the Bridgestones. The Michelins are also the newest tire of this bunch in terms of technology. The new A/S Plus is supposed to be longer lasting than its predecessor and also cured of the center tread wearing issues of the original Pilot Sport A/S.

Other than the Azenis RT-615, I wouldn't even consider putting a Falken or Kumho product on either one of our vehicles.

Dima1978

Pilot Sport AS + still has shoulder wear problem according to a Costco tech (personal experience on Mazda3). I may change to Pilots though. Dang I am torn, I am starting to hate the concept of freedom and choice.

beakmoney

coming off a set of RE960s on my previous ride (wrx), i can say hands down the 960 is a fantastic all season tire. not much experience with any michelin tires so i can't say one way or the other there.
kumho ASX is a great alternative as well. if i decide to stick with all season (vs. dedicated snows/summer), RE960 will be my tire of choice without question.

BDoggPrelude

That's kind of funny because most directional tires have premature shoulder wearing issues but the Pilot Sport A/S always had the opposite problem....center tread wear. Some could chalk it up to overinflation but after you've seen literally hundreds of sets of these things with the same issue it's hard to say that they're all overinflated. The Bridgestone RE960 is actually the best wearing directional tire I've ever seen in terms of wear pattern. Like I said in my previous post, Michelin claims that the center wear issues have been addressed with the A/S Plus.

Dima1978

OK, I am staying with Pilot Sports AS+, 235/45-17. I wanted 245s but it is too wide for snow conditions according to specs (245s are 9.6 on 8" rim and 235s are 9.3).
IF this Michelin set fails, I am going to "cheap" Yokos...

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Get the 245/45-17. Don't know what you speaking of too wide for snow conditions, but the 8" wide TL wheel fits the manufacturer's recommended wheel width.

Dima1978

I'm going to use them all year round: 245s will be too wide to sink into snow-- it will float. Neither one is narrow but narrower will be a bit better in snow,lower rolling resistance, etc. I will stop with Pilots 235s. Thanks guys for helping me with making this hard choice. Now it's time to have a beer.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

yokohama isnt a cheap tire, but michilen is an overpriced tire....

i cant imagine a .3 in wider tire being to WIDE for snow, whatever that means...

BDoggPrelude

Lol. Not exactly. You get what you pay for with tires. There's a reason why Falken FK-452's are dirt cheap.

Dima1978

With the rebate it is not much more expensive than some yokos with all that best in class (tirerack)

djbonsu

iTrader: (3)

Defintely a performing tire when new! Handles great in dry and wet weather but it becomes VERY noisy when they start to wear! I hate noisy tires...lol

OP...u can never go wrong with michelin P/S+. I had the regular P/S on the TL and that tire is the ultimate performer all year round but that price kills it. I didn't want to spend over a grand on my stock setup considering I have summer wheels so I went with general exclaim uhp. Nice and quite tire with good wet and dry traction. But the sidewalls are super soft to me!

Another option maybe the bridgestone re760 tires...I'm considering them for my summer wheels however I don't know if they are A/S tires...

Dima1978

After some bargaining with a discount tire manager Pilots came to around 800.

BDoggPrelude

Great choice on tires and vendor.

BDoggPrelude

Definitely not an A/S tire but If you're just using them for your summer wheels you should be alright. Do not run that tire in snow or even freezing conditions. I'm going to run the RE760's on my Prelude this summer to try them out. Just gotta wait for these late winter storms to stop dumping on us though.

Dima1978

I don't know why but BFG SS A/S seemed to handle better.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

thats a good price....